Arsenal loanee Saliba bags award following display in Nice’s meeting with Metz

Nice switch

The major transfer news at the Emirates this week of course came in the form of confirmation that Saliba had departed north London for the 2nd-half of the campaign.

In a post across the club’s social media platforms, Arsenal announced that their out-of-favour young stopper had returned to his home country with OGC Nice, on a 6-month loan:

🗞 William Saliba has joined Ligue 1 side Nice on loan for the remainder of the season

— Arsenal (@Arsenal) January 4, 2021

Accompanying the Gunners’ announcement, meanwhile, was a statement on the part of technical director Edu, who appeared keen to reiterate that Saliba has a long-term future in the English capital:

‘William Saliba is a player with a huge amount of talent and potential. We’re confident he will have a great career with us but we must remember that he is still only 19 years old and has a lot of time ahead of him.’

‘So together with William, we have decided that spending the rest of the season on loan with Nice is the best way for him to develop.’

This of course came with the Frenchman having failed to garner a single first-team appearance under Mikel Arteta over the opening half of the campaign.

Saliba impresses

Despite his struggles for game-time in north London, though, Saliba has since been plugged directly into the backline of his new club.

Nice fell to a 2-0 defeat to Brest during the week, with the Arsenal stopper, just days after his arrival, having been utilised from the off.

As such, it came as little surprise when Saliba was handed his 2nd-straight start on Saturday, when Adrian Ursea’s men made the trip to Metz.

The visitors took the lead in the clash early on, when Amine Gouiri slotted home from the penalty spot. Metz, though, secured a share of the spoils 10 minutes from time, through John Boye.

Saliba, much like his side, fared considerably better against Metz than Brest, with a last-minute interception to snuff out a potential gut-punch for the visitors at the Stade Saint-Symphorien a particular highlight:

This was a point-saving intervention from William Saliba on Thierry Ambrose in the dying embers of last night’s match vs Metz. pic.twitter.com/580b6iHoP8

— Get French Football News (@GFFN) January 10, 2021

And, as outlined above, the youngster’s efforts throughout the clash certainly didn’t go unappreciated by Nice’s fans.

As confirmed across the club’s social media platforms following the final whistle, Saliba was voted as ‘Player of the Game’ by Les Aiglons’ faithful:

William Saliba est votre Aiglon @credit_agri_PCA de la rencontre #FCMOGCN.
Youcef Atal et Amine Gouiri complètent le podium.

— OGC Nice (@ogcnice) January 10, 2021

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This article was edited by Josh Barker.

Source: 101greatgoals.com